花瓶 meaning in English
flower vase; (fig.) female employee considered to be just a pretty face (attractive but not very competent)
Meaning of 花瓶
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- flower vase
- (fig.) female employee considered to be just a pretty face (attractive but not very competent)
How to use 花瓶
花瓶 is the everyday word for a vase, and it often appears with the measure word 个 (gè) or 只 (zhī). It is also used figuratively, and often rudely, for someone who is seen as decorative but not capable, usually a woman at work. Example: 桌子上有一个花瓶。(Zhuōzi shang yǒu yí gè huāpíng.) There is a vase on the table.
花 (huā) means flower and 瓶 (píng) means bottle or jar, so a 花瓶 is simply a flower bottle. Picture a bottle holding a single flower and the word builds itself.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 瓶子 (píngzi) when they mean a vase, but 瓶子 is a general bottle, such as a water or wine bottle. Also be careful with the figurative sense, because calling a person a 花瓶 is an insult, not a compliment about their looks.
花瓶 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
花 huā · flower · 7 strokes
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瓶 píng · bottle · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 花瓶.
| 花园 | huāyuán | garden (for flowers, ornamental plants etc); (landscaped) park; yard with decorative plant |
| 瓶子 | píngzi | bottle |
| 鲜花 | xiānhuā | flower; fresh flowers |
| 开花 | kāihuā | to bloom; to blossom; to flower; (fig.) to burst; to split open |
| 桃花 | táohuā | peach blossom; (fig.) love affair |
| 花费 | huāfèi | expense; cost |
| 花生 | huāshēng | peanut |
| 烟花 | yānhuā | fireworks; prostitute (esp. in Yuan theater) |
| 梅花 | méihuā | plum blossom; clubs ♣ (a suit in card games) |
| 棉花 | miánhuā | cotton |
| 火花 | huǒhuā | spark; sparkle |
| 菊花 | júhuā | chrysanthemum; (TCM) chrysanthemum flower |
Questions about 花瓶
What does 花瓶 mean?
花瓶 (huāpíng) means "flower vase; (fig.) female employee considered to be just a pretty face (attractive but not very competent)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 花瓶?
花瓶 is made of 2 characters: 花 (7 strokes), 瓶 (10 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 花瓶 an HSK word?
Yes. 花瓶 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say 'put flowers in a vase' in Chinese?
You can say 把花插在花瓶里 (bǎ huā chā zài huāpíng lǐ). The verb 插 (chā) means to insert or stick in, and it is the natural verb for arranging flowers.
Can 花瓶 describe a man?
Yes, it can describe anyone who seems to be there only for appearance, though it is most often said about women. People also use it for things, like a project or position that looks good but does nothing useful.